Free Me
by MusicAnonymous
Summary: Max was an orphan who lived with an abusive "father" and her foster siblings. But what happens when a new boy shows up? What happens when he changes her life in half an hour? What happens if he bites? Possibly idolizes Houdini? Get's his hands on a car? Original idea and first ten chapters by findingmymuse. All credit goes to her.
1. Preface

**Hai forum. So, as you can tell, this is not my normal story type. Well, that's 'cause it's not my story at all! This original plot was invented by none other than **_**findingmymuse,**_** who happily gave me the rights to this story. For the first ten chapters, it's all her. After that, it's up to me to not screw this story up. Royally. But until then, blame **_**findingmymuse**_** for the epicness or the shittiness. You can praise me too, though. I wouldn't mind it…  
-Anonymous**

**Disclaimer: Neither of us owns it. None of it. *****sniffle*******

Preface

In a land far, far away, in a place where the grass really is greener and the air is fresher, there lived a Princess who never wished for anything and always got everything she wanted.

Okay, if you believe that, then the rest of this story will surely disappoint you. This is my story, and it is far from a happy fairytale.

I'm a foster kid, battling it out against my 'father' constantly and having to deal with a discriminating 'mother' every day. The secrets in this house are hidden, for now, but it won't be long before everything comes barreling to the forefront…when that happens, well, I don't want to be around when it does.

But I always have hope; hope that one day this will all change and I can have my own happy ending.

**AN: Okay, as you can tell, this isn't like my usual stories. I'm writing it to see if I can, so please bear with me. Reviews are welcome, regardless of your opinion :)  
-findingmymuse**


	2. In The Hot Seat

**I am such an ass. Sorry for the wait, guys. A lot of shit's been going on and I haven't had time to do anything enjoyable lately. So, yeah. But I'm back now with a little more time on my hands.**** And me to push her away from YouTube.**** Shut up, you know I'm addicted. ****To watching a bunch of grown men play video games.**** You know you like it too. ****…**** That's what I thought… bitccccccccch.  
-Anonymous and Shadow**

**Disclaimer: We own nothing, nor does **_**findingmymuse.**_

Chapter One

"Maxalena! Get your scrawny butt down here before I have to call Roger!" I heard my foster mother, Carol, yell from the first floor of our dilapidated house.

Roger Berkmen is my stepfather and the very essence of my living nightmares. 6'2", 250 pounds of sheer muscle, eyes like daggers, and a backhand like nothing else; Roger is a scary human being.

"Lena…" a soft voice whispered as I made my way down the stairs to find Carol.

I whipped my head around to find the voice and came face to face with Ariel Phillips.

Ariel is another one of the numerous foster kids living with the Berkmen's. Long blonde hair that looks almost brown with caked on dirt, sad blue eyes that break my heart to meet, and a beautiful smile that rarely makes an appearance; Ariel is a creature unfit to live in such a place as this.

"Lena, when is Miss Rachel coming back?" The nine year old asked with hopeful eyes.

Miss Rachel is our social worker and Ariel has convinced herself that she is the woman's daughter. Being the youngest foster kid here, Ariel has the most hope that her real parents are somewhere out there missing her.

Me and the others, well, we quit believing that lie so long ago that it's almost painful to see Ariel with her head so far up in the clouds. She'll realize the cold hard truth soon enough. Why crush her dreams now?

"Maxalena!" Carol yelled again, finally getting impatient that I hadn't gone to do whatever chore it was that she wanted me to do.

Ariel's eyes widened and before I had a chance to stop her, she was already up the stairs and hidden in her spot between the railings. I could see a second blonde head of hair next to her and assumed that George was hiding there too.

"Coming!" I hollered as I raced down the rest of the stairs and rounded the corner, following Carol's voice.

Monique Sims, my other foster sister, was crying into Iggy Smith's shoulder. He was a year younger than me and one older than her, but he stood as the big brother to both of us.

The look on Carol's face told me that she knew Monique's secret. Crap, crap, crap.


	3. Secrets Revealed

** Annyeonghaseyo. Thank you, Google Translate. I really do love it. ****More than she loves her best friend.**** Because you don't speak every language known to man. ****…I speak Japanese.**** It's not enough. ****Dangsin ssibal.**** What? ****Oh, nothing.**** TOO GOOGLE TRANSLATE.  
-Anonymous and Shadow**

Chapter Two

Carol eyed me suspiciously before relaxing her face. "You know about what this little slut has gotten herself into?" Carol asked, pointing an old stubby finger at Monique's brown hair, the only thing visible against Iggy's pale grey t-shirt that she had her face buried in.

Monique's secret was one that the three of us have kept from Carol for weeks. Roger would sometimes go into the girls' room when Carol was away on business and he would do things to Monique against her will.

The first time it happened, I snuck up behind him and hit the back of his head with my bedside lamp. He was knocked unconscious before he could lay a finger on her…the second time; he tied me to my bed before he went after Monique.

The look in her eyes as she silently begged me for help that night (and the many after that) will haunt me for the rest of my life.

Don't look at me like that, with your judgmental eyes; I tried to help her. I tried to tell our social worker, but every time I tried to tell Miss Rachel, Roger would be in the room making threatening gestures towards one of my foster siblings and I always chickened out. Who knew what he would do to us if he got ratted out?

Iggy only recently found out about the situation when Monique had him steal a pregnancy test from the convenient store where he works to get away from the house a couple hours a day.

When Iggy found out, he was beyond angry. He went to confront Roger, but that only led to him getting a few broken ribs and a black eye. He was pretty lucky; considering what Roger could have done.

"Don't you dare call her that," I warned, inching closer to Carol.

She took an instinctive step backwards. We had always had an understanding-don't mess with me or I can hospitalize you. Roger, on the other hand, has yet to realize that I'm a black belt in karate and still sees me as a human punching bag. He'll learn soon enough.

"But you know that she got herself knocked up by sleeping around? What does that say about her? You know, Roger warned me that this girl was no good when we first took her in, but I didn't see it until now." Carol reasoned, looking at Monique with disgust.

Carol was a racist and I'm not afraid to admit that (in my mind of course) because I'm half Hispanic so I know it's the truth firsthand. Monique gets the worst of Carol's criticism though because there's no denying that she's African American with brown hair, brown eyes, and skin the color of hot chocolate.

Ariel, her eleven year old biological brother George, and Iggy have it made here (other than occasional 'disciplining' beatings from Roger) because they are all blonde, blue eyed, and white as can be; just like the Berkmen's.

Needless to say, Roger isn't the only one who doesn't like Monique or me the most.

"That's not even what happened!" I yelled, trying to defend my fifteen year old sister of sorts. I may be one year from adulthood, but I still had the temper of a thirteen year old.

Monique looked up with wide brown eyes when the front doors slammed shut. Uh-oh. Roger was home early.


	4. Daddy Issues (Korn!)

**Kon'nichiwa my friends. You can thank our resident cat-lover for that one. ****That'd be me.**** How awesome am I? Don't answer that. I've updated like three times today. ****YouTube.**** *****drools***** *****goes to another tab***** ****While she's doing that, I'll continue this. Findingmymuse still owns this part of the plot. Not the characters, but the idea and story.****  
-Anonymous and Shadow**

Chapter Three

"There's your father now." Carol said smugly, straightening up from her cowardice stance and standing taller in an attempt to prove to her husband that she had us under control.

"He's not our father." I muttered angrily.

Unlike everyone else, I had actually found my real father. Jeb doesn't care about me though so I'm glad that he isn't in my life. He only cares about his job and his new family.

I have an adorable half-brother, Ari, who is ten years younger than me and he wasn't told that we're related. It's "what's best" is what Jeb claimed. Wouldn't want the daughter you had with a hooker to meet your legitimate son.

His mother, Belinda, is only eight years older than me at the way-too-young-for-my-forty-year-old-father age of twenty-five. She was eighteen when they got married and I have no idea what she sees in him…other than his millions of course.

Carol ran to Roger's side like a newlywed (despite the fact that they were both as old as Jeb) and giggled like a schoolgirl.

"You'll never believe what I found in the trash can." Carol said as she pulled Monique's pregnancy test out from behind her back.

Okay….ewwwwwwwww! Did she not know where that has been? That was seriously gross!

Roger's eyes landed on mine angrily and he raised his hand to slap me but Carol held him back. "Not he… her." She said, pointing once again at Monique.

Carol smiled triumphantly when Roger's eyes glared angrily at Monique. What she didn't realize was that two things were running through his mind and neither one was what she was thinking.

1) Roger was about to finally be a biological father and he was angry that his wife couldn't give him what the teenage girl he's been raping could. Or 2) Monique has been with another guy and he was going into a territorial rage.

The doorbell ringing interrupted whatever Roger was about to say. Carol went to answer the door at the same time that Roger tried to pull Monique in for a claiming kiss.

Iggy instinctively pulled Monique closer to him and growled at Roger. I snapped Roger's arm behind his back, afraid that he would hurt either of them, and he moaned.

That's how Miss Rachel and Carol found us when they walked through the door. Roger with one hand pined behind his back thanks to me, Iggy growling protectively, and Monique whimpering against Iggy's chest.


	5. Shock

** Salve, my friends. Another update. And still no Fang. Sigh, **_**findingmymuse**_**, why? ****Patience is a virtue. ****Yeah, you have patience by the fuck-load. ****Sure I do. *****pushes up glasses********* You don't wear glasses… Where'd you get those? *****smirks********* Oh my…  
-Anonymous and Shadow**

Chapter Four

"Am I interrupting something?" Miss Rachel asked.

The second she said anything, Ariel and George bounded down the stairs and wrapped their arms around her. When George saw us all looking at him, he untangled himself and puffed out his chest like he was tough stuff.

"No, of course not," Roger lied smoothly. Years of proactive had done him good. "Maxalena is just being short tempered as usual."

I released his arm after twisting it tightly one last time and he turned his back to glare at me so our social worker wouldn't see.

I swear, if the Berkmen's didn't get so much for all of us, they would only keep Ariel, their obvious favorite.

"What brings you to our humble abode?" Carol asked faux sweetly. "Good news, I hope."

"Did you find our parents?" Ariel asked like always. That was the first thing she asked every time Miss Rachel checked in on us.

"I'm afraid not. Though, this trip _is _about George," Miss Rachel said hesitantly.

George, who I nicknamed Trooper because of his fascination with the Civil War and Iggy nicknamed The Gasman because apparently he can't control his body functions at night, was the happiest kid here.

He was just old enough to have realistic hopes and still young enough for the Berkmen's to consider him cute so they treat him semi-kindly.

"Oh?" Carol asked. "Is this about the small explosion in chemistry lab? Because he already paid for the damages."

"No, no. nothing like that," Miss Rachel said, trying to put on a happy face. "It's happy news… sort of."

"Just spit it out!" I said with a sigh. If you haven't noticed, I'm not the most patient person you'll ever meet. Okay, that's an understatement; a bipolar snapping turtle has more patience than I do.

"George Phillips, you are getting adopted!" Rachel said with enthusiasm. "The Malone's want you to come live with them."

"What about my sister? What about Ariel?" Trooper asked frantically. "I'm not leaving without her."

"Well, that's the bad news," Rachel began, looking at the 100% blood siblings warily. "The Malone's only want one child right now. If they like how it works out, they'll adopt Ariel as well. They've already got the paperwork filled out just in case. She'll probably join you in a few months, once you've had time to settle in."

"Promise?" Trooper and Ariel asked at the same time, both with heartbreaking sincerity.

'Please don't promise that, please don't promise that.' I silently begged in my mind, knowing how unpredictable adoptions were around here. I had gone through three and here I am, still a foster kid.

"…I promise," Miss Rachel said and I lost a little bit of respect for the woman.


	6. Replacement

** Hallå, my friends. Not much to say… ****KITTEH.**** What? ****It was something to say.**** Alright. I'll let you guys read now.  
-Anonymous and Shadow**

Chapter Five

"Go pack, we leave in half an hour." Rachel said. George ran up the stairs happily. I could hear Ariel mumbling about "But what if Mom and Dad come back?" as she followed behind him up the steps.

"Are you sure they wouldn't like Monique or someone else instead?" Carol asked, subtly trying to get rid of the cause of her marital problems.

Roger spoke up before Miss Rachel could answer. "She already said they wanted George, so it's George they're going to get… though, I am curious as to the whereabouts of the boy we'll be getting to replace Georgie. Three daughters and one son are hardly fair…"

Miss Rachel brightened instantly, glad that she knew the answer to something. "He's here now actually. Sitting in the car until I unlock it for him," She said and I raised an eyebrow. Why would this kid need to be locked in a car?

"Nick is a special case," Miss Rachel said.

I could literally feel Roger rolling his eyes. 'Special cases' meant 'problem teen' ninety percent of the time. He already had enough of those under his roof.

"Nick is a runner," Rachel explained. "He seems to think he's Houdini; always getting around security systems and he even figured out a way to slip out of handcuffs."

"Oh, Heavens, why was he in handcuffs?" Carol asked. I have to give her credit; she was doing a good job of keeping up the charade.

"He um… he bit his last foster brother hard enough to need stitches and his foster parents called the cops. That was last week so he is the only one who hasn't been placed yet and is available," Miss Rachel said.

"The biting thing has been going on since he first got placed in the system, so he'll try to go by Fang but don't let him. It only encourages him to keep biting people," Miss Rachel advised, looking from each of our faces.

"And what if we don't want a problem case?" Roger asked gruffly.

"Well, I'm afraid that you won't get another child for possibly a year, and by that time, who knows how many of the children will be at the house still. Ariel may be gone, Maxalena will have graduated, and George will be fully settled in with the Malone's."

I could tell that the money issue was the only thing they were concerned about as Carol and Roger spoke quietly to each other.

"Okay, we'll take him… on a trial basis." Roger said, trying to sound firm.

This isn't going to end well…


	7. Meeting Nick

** Hallo, my friends. I changed some stuff in this one. I just didn't like how it came out, so, if you want the original version of this chapter, go find the original version of the story. ****Oh, someones being assertive. Good.**** I know you find it attractive. ****…cannot deny that. ****GROSS. ****I am enjoying your horror way too much. ****And thanks to **_** .Souls**_** for reading already.  
-Anonymous and Shadow**

Chapter Six

"Nick?" I heard Miss Rachel say from the doorway. The sound of a car beeper, doors opening, and shoes hitting pavement followed as I assumed Nick walked towards the house.

"It'll take some getting used to on everyone's part, but this will work, I'm sure," Rachel said as Ariel and George bounded down the steps with his bags.

"Nick, I'd like you to meet Maxalena, Iggy, Monique, and Ariel; your new foster siblings. This is Carol and Roger; your new parents," Rachel introduced us and pointed each time. "This little buddy is George, but he's getting adopted today."

"How peachy for him," Nick muttered under his breath and I seemed to be the only one who heard him. I gave him a glare but he just ignored it. In fact, he seemed to be ignoring everyone completely.

Rachel turned to Carol. "If he takes off, give me a call. I'll be back in a week to check in on the progress… and, of course, to bring you your new check."

Ten minutes later, after Rachel and George were long gone and Iggy had taken Nick's bag upstairs, we were back to our original argument.

"You good for nothing slut!" Roger yelled at Monique, who cowered behind Iggy's tall frame in response. "How could you get yourself pregnant?"

Carol had decided she had enough of this and, after a smug smile knowing that Monique would be dealt with, she headed to the gym. She liked to pretend she was younger by hooking up with random workers there, paying of course. Roger didn't mind because he had Monique at home for free.

"You would know!" I yelled at him, trying to distract him from my sister of sorts. I could take a lot more than she could and we all knew it.

"What are you insinuating?" Roger asked, turning to glare at the newcomer behind me. Ariel had run to her hiding place the second Rachel left and for once I was glad.

"What? Are you trying to deny it now that we have someone who could be gone tomorrow and call the cops?" I taunted. "He could, you know. He's a runner. He'll probably be gone by tonight and then your dirty little secret will be out. It won't be long until the cops show up and arrest your pathetic self."

I turned halfway towards Nick so that I could still see Roger out of the corner of my eye (Rule 1: never leave your back to the enemy). "He's been raping Monique for a month now without protection and is only mad because this means Carol is going to start getting suspicious," I stated in a bored tone.

That got Nick's attention. Suddenly, he was angry. I didn't expect that. His eyes were a deep blazing black as he glared at Roger. "You're sick. Taking advantage of a young girl?" Nick murmured in a deceptively calm voice and advanced towards Roger, appearing suddenly behind him. "Go to hell."

Our foster father was prepared though and blocked Nick's first punch. Nick, apparently expecting this, reacted fast and jabbed him in between the ribs. Roger doubled over, giving the runner a chance to ram his knee into the grown man's nose. Nick's elbow found its way into his neck, knocking him to his knees.

When Roger fell to the ground a minute later, Nick stood back and let Iggy kick Roger Rabbit where the sun don't shine just for good measure.

"Let's go," Nick spoke up, glancing at the unconscious Roger on the floor.

"Go where?" Monique asked, clutching her small stomach in pain.

"Anywhere," Nick answered brilliantly, peering at the door through his overlong fringe. "What they're doing here is illegal and we need to get out of here before anything worse happens."

I laughed sarcastically. "Yeah. Like leaving would change anything. They'd just find us and bring us back and then we'd get punished."

"I agree. Roger doesn't like it when Lena or Iggy hits him. He gets really mad and then… well, Lena usually ends up in the hospital for an 'accident' or Iggy goes for a 'gang fight," Monique said quietly. "I mean, sure Iggy is in a gang, but they're more like peace keepers with guns than anything else."

"Well, I'm leaving either way. I value my life more than you obviously do," Nick said, gazing up the stairs. "Ariel? What about you?"

A quiet reply rocked my world. "I want to go with you."


	8. Runaway

** Privet, my friends. I changed more stuff in this. The "shit-for-brains" comment was all me. ****Technically, it was me.**** Shut up, Shadow. *****closed-eyed smile********* Sebastian. ****I know you love me, but must you say it in front of everyone?**** NO I DO NOT. ****Too much joy.****  
-Anonymous and Shadow**

Chapter Seven

"What do you mean; you want to go with him?" I asked Ariel.

Unbelievable. She's known him for ten minutes and she's already willing to go on the run with him. Did she forget the years I've taken care of her when Carol and Roger neglected her? Did she forget the night I stayed up 'til four in the morning because she had chicken pox? She must have; or else she never would have agreed to abandon me for a complete stranger.

"I'm scared, Lena. I hate Roger," My youngest sister-of-sorts admitted with a whimper. "Let's go with Nick 'cause he's strong and Roger can't hurt him."

"Any other takers?" Nick asked from the top of the stairs. He had retrieved his bag and had it slung lazily over his shoulder.

"I… I don't know how the trip will affect the baby," Monique stated, glancing at Roger's limp body in disgust.

"The baby is the least of your concerns. Your life is at risk here, Monique," Nick said in a motivate tone. "The longer you stay here, the closer it is until your funeral."

One look at Monique's face and I knew that she was sold too. I glanced at Iggy, the only sane one in our group now. My heart plummeted when he looked at me with wary eyes.

"I need to protect Monique and Ariel, even if I haven't been able to do that here," Iggy admitted hesitantly.

"All of you?" I asked with an internal sob.

Various nods confirmed my fears. My family was abandoning me.

"You can come with us, Max," Nick said while the other kids ran up the stairs to pack a backpack for the road.

"It's Lena," I sneered, glaring dangerously. "And don't stand there and pretend you know what's good for my family. You just met them, so you don't understand how bad of an idea this is. The minute Roger wakes up and notices we're gone, he'll have the police on our tails."

Nick scoffed. "The police won't find us." He replied, smirking lightly.

"What makes you so sure? You've been arrested before so why should this be any different?" I asked and he just gave me a close-eyed, tight-lipped smile.

"Because, this time, we won't be on foot," He replied as he bent down and started reaching for Roger's front pocket. A few seconds later, he straightened up and pulled out a set of keys.

"What about money, wise guy? You think of that? 'Cause you'll be starving _and_ homeless by nightfall," I stated, trying to find holes in his plan.

Nick rolled his eyes. "Have some faith, Max."

"It's Lena," I corrected again, getting angry about the new nickname he had made for me. "And what's your plan to get money, wise guy?"

Nick chuckled lowly, a hint of a smile on his lips. "Already got it." He pulled out a stack of newly pressed bills from his back pocket and Roger's wallet from the other.

"Where'd you get that?" I asked in surprise, gesturing to his hands full of money.

"Think of it as a loan from our lovely foster parents," Nick said, giving me that closed-eyed smile again.

"Wait, they had this much cash lying around? Where? And how did you find it?" I asked as the other kids came down the stairs.

"Well, the wallet I pocketed when we were fighting…" Nick said with that same hint of a smile on his face.

"You've got mad skills, dude," Iggy spoke up with awe. Great, just what we needed. Another bad role model. Nick cocked his head to the side slightly, smiling crookedly in reply.

"And the cash?" I growled, already pissed and seeing red.

"They had it lying around in their room… or maybe it could have been hidden in a safe in their dresser. Who knows for sure?" Nick said with a chuckle and that damned smile.

"Can we please leave before he wakes up?" Monique asked timidly. Roger was starting to stir slightly yet he still remained unconscious.

The four of them headed out the door with their bags, sullen looks on their faces as they all begged me to go with them… well, Nick didn't beg, but he asked once again nonetheless.

"Goodbye Lena," Ariel whispered brokenly through the car window.

Nick started the car and they were halfway down the street in an instant. I could hear Roger stirring in the living room and I dreaded having to tell him that the others had run away. How would he punish us?

In the next second, I made one of those snap decisions that I am (or will be) famous for. Usually they ended with broken ribs or a busted lip from Roger, but this time, I hoped for a more positive ending.

I jogged towards the car that was stopped at a stop sign and was running full speed when I noticed that Roger was at the front door, yelling profanities at me.

Nick kept the car at the stop sign waiting for me until I hopped in the backseat with the other girls.

"Glad you changed your mind, Max," Nick said as he sped off down the street, Roger still heard as he reached the street.

"Just call me a runaway," I laughed, not caring about anything other than my new-found freedom. Then what he said registered. "It's Lena, shit-for-brains."

_This just might work, _I thought optimistically. Little did I know how wrong I was…


	9. Confessions

**I changed more stuff, shut up. Not my fault if I'm a perfectionist. ****Yes it is.**** I will murder you in your sleep. ****And you know better than anyone I could kill you right now.**** Yeah, yeah. Fucking mercenary. ****Thank you.**** Freak. ****Oh, that hurts **_**so**_** bad. I'm gonna cry. ****Grammar. ****Cryaotic.****  
-Anonymous and Shadow**

Chapter Eight

"So, what's your big plan now?" I asked Nick. We were still in Roger's stolen car, driving as far away as we could before we would have to ditch the car and head out on foot.

"What?" He asked, looking at me from the driver's seat with sleep in his eyes. It had been two days since we ran away, two very long days. Both of which, Nick had not slept at all.

I looked in the rear-view mirror as I asked him the question again. Monique was fast asleep on Iggy's shoulder and he caught my eye to let me know that it was all going to be okay, before he returned to stroking her hair until he too was asleep.

She was only a few weeks along, but I knew that whatever happened from here on out, her baby would have a real father. Blood or not, I knew that Iggy was too in love with her to ever let her do this on her own.

Ariel was asleep on his other side, clutching tight to the small teddy bear that Nick picked up for her at our last rest stop. She looked so... little that it nearly broke my heart.

She had fled our foster parents' house because she didn't feel safe there, and I hated myself for not being able to protect her from them even though I tried my hardest to do just that. The worst part was that her brother had gotten adopted the day we left and we would probably never see him again. At least he was in a good place.

I hated myself for not getting them all out of there sooner, but the last time one of us ran away, Roger split Iggy's skull open when he was caught and returned.

"We're nearly at the Arizona border," Nick mumbled, bringing me out of my thoughts. "I think we should ditch the car on this side of the border, facing south to throw them off, and then continue heading east. We should be able to hit Minnesota soon if we can just get our hands on another car."

"And what if we can't?" I grumbled bitterly, not bothering to hide the fact that I hated that this guy who we just met was leading my family off to their doom. If Roger and Carol found us, well, let's just say that it wouldn't be pretty.

"Then we'll think of something else," Nick said with a stretched confidence I didn't understand. We were on the run, for crying out loud! "You have to quit worrying about things you can't change, Max."

"My name is Lena. Maxalena," I snapped, glaring a warning at him. I don't know why he insisted on calling me that stupid nickname when I so clearly didn't like it.

"Why do you hate 'Max'?" I knew he had been thinking about that for the last two days.

"Not that it's any of your business," I said, not sure why I was even telling a stranger this when no one else had ever gotten me to talk about my family before, "but my dad called me that until I was ten and he started dating Belinda. Then I was shipped to a foster home because she was eighteen and didn't want to deal with being a mom."

I expected him to say "I'm sorry" and look at me with pity, but he didn't. Instead, Nick glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, frowning.

"That's no reason to refuse the nickname. It's just a name. It's not connected to bed memories, nor does it have some archaic meaning that lashes at your soul," at this he snorted lightly, "every time you hear it."

I glared at the side of his head, but let the meaning sink in. Maybe he was right. I was away from Jeb; there was no reason he couldn't call me that. I sighed. "Maybe you're right. Mom named me that for a reason, probably. But I still don't like it."

This caught his attention. "You know your mom?" he questioned, eyebrows rising.

I shook my head, checking the mirror again to make sure that the three of them we asleep still before answering. "I just know that she was the best that money could buy...I think her street name was Valarie."

"I'll help you find her." Nick determined, nodding in finality. His voice was calm and his black eyes suddenly filled with resolve.

I had to laugh at that, causing him to give me a sidelong glance. "You want to find a hooker who had a baby seventeen years ago? That's crazy, Nick."

He got quiet, not looking at me as he said the thing that changed my world forever. "I think I know how to find her."


	10. Trust Issues

**So, this is the last chapter of the pre-written ones. I changed some stuff in this too. I'M SO ASHAMED. ****Shh, it's okey. Just let it out. ****UGH I'M A HORRIBLE PERSON. ****Anonymous, it's just a chapter. Settler down. ****Sorry Shadow. ****STAHP APOLOGIZING.**** …sowwy. ****My best friend, everybody.****  
-Anonymous and Shadow**

Chapter Nine

I was stunned speechless. Nick just hinted at knowing how to reconnect me with my mother that I had never met. That was crazy. So either I had gotten in the car with some cruel sadist or a delusional guy. I couldn't decide right now which one was worse.

"I think I know how we could find her," Nick repeated when I didn't say anything. He spoke so confidently that I was really worried now that he was a sadistic, delusional person.

"My mom was a prostitute seventeen years ago. What makes you think that you could just find her out of the blue, so many years later?" I asked Nick angrily.

How dare he try to give me hope about this! I had pretty much accepted that I would never find my mother, and here he had to give me stupid hope.

"Well, we know stuff about her," Nick insisted, trying to get me to see that he knew what he was talking about. "She went by Valarie, Jeb was a high paying customer, and she had a daughter seventeen years ago. Plus, didn't you say she was from around here?"

Man, when I asked for someone who would listen to me, I was hoping for a social worker. Instead, I got a 'runner' who convinced my whole family to go on the run with him and was trying to stir up my past.

Nick continued with a small nod even though I didn't say anything. "You know the hospital you were born, right? That would really help narrow it down."

I nodded, not because I wanted to, but because I felt like I couldn't lie to this guy. He seemed to always see right through me anyways, so what was the use?

"It was on the birth certificate stuff that Jeb handed over to Miss Rachel, our social worker, when he dumped me for his new family," I muttered, trying to keep the resentment out of my voice, though, from the look on his face, I had failed at it.

I was only glad that Iggy, Monique, and Ariel were asleep in the backseat and couldn't hear this mushy conversation. I had to stay a rock for their sake. Emotions were a sign of weakness and with what we all had gone through, it was a wonder none of us were statues.

"Can you... can you do me a favor first?" I asked, glancing in the rear view mirror at my unofficial siblings with a sigh.

"Anything, Max," Nick promised, and for once I didn't correct him on calling me 'Lena.'

"Let's find them a home first," I said, naming my only condition. I knew that Nick wasn't going to let the search for my mother go, but I didn't think I could find her if I knew that the rest of them weren't taken care of first.

"I promise," Nick said honestly, and I kind of hoped that I could trust him enough to believe him.

But the truth was that we didn't know anything about him. He had only been at the Berkman's for literally half an hour before he beat Roger senseless and told us that we should run away with him. And, we had stupidly trusted him without asking a single question.

I mean, he looked like he wanted to help us out, but how far would that go? Would he turn us in to save himself? He had already been to Juvie once according to Miss Rachel. Maybe he wouldn't feel like going back again just for us.

I eyed him warily, not believing that I had been stupid enough to trust him.

"What's wrong, Max?" Nick asked, a thoughtful expression on his usually blank face.

"My name is Lena, Nick. Get that through your thick skull," I snarled and he recoiled slightly, though kept his eyes on the road in front of him.

Next chance we got, I would take my family and we'd split. Because at the end of the day, we were all we needed and outsiders couldn't be trusted.


End file.
